During times of sickness or when the local environment is low in humidity, the tissues of the inside of the nose can become dried out. This nasal dryness may cause discomfort, soreness, congested breathing, and even bleeding and the associated possibility of nasal infections.
One particular problem area is skin dryness that causes cracking and bleeding tissue when associated with oxygen administration by means of plastic nasal cannula over an extended period of time, or chafing and irritation resulting from unprotected skin subjected to continuous air flow when continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy is used for treatment of sleep disorders, such as apnea.
While there are various moisturizers and gels available for treatment of nasal cavity and topical skin dryness, they generally include petroleum in their formulations. However, petroleum cannot be used in areas exposed to high oxygen content. Thus, these products cannot be used by persons on oxygen therapy or CPAP therapy.